Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion certainly wasn't lacking in the drama department.All eyes were on the Blues after their remarkable spending in the summer transfer window, splurging over £200 million in their quest to thrust themselves into the Premier League title race.Sadly, though, Chelsea fans will have to wait until they see their entire cohort of arrivals make their debut with Thiago Silva, Ben Chiwell and Hakim Ziyech absent from the Brighton trip.
Brighton vs Chelsea
But high-profile purchases Timo Werner and Kai Havertz were fit to make Frank Lampard's first starting XI of the season with the former having scored at Brighton during a pre-season friendly.
It therefore seemed pretty apt that Chelsea's opener in their competitive rematch emanated from Werner again who won a penalty that Jorginho, complete with his trademark hop, duly converted.
However, the true drama in Chelsea's curtain-raiser came after the half-time break with Kepa Arrizabalaga attracting some unwanted headlines amid questions about his future in England.
Yet another Kepa error
With reports claiming that Kepa is on the way to being replaced by Eduard Mendy, the Spaniard seemed to seal his fate by conceding a long-range strike from Leandro Trossard all too easily.
Although it wasn't an in-your-face clanger such as, say, Rob Green at the 2010 World Cup, it was yet another damning example of Kepa letting an effort from range slip through his fingers.
You can check out the poor error, which marked the nineteenth time Kepa has conceded from outside the box in the Premier League, down below:
James scores a belter
However, Kepa's blushes were somewhat spared as Chelsea immediately went down the other end and scored an absolute screamer courtesy of Reece James.
There were flashes of Vincent Kompany against Leicester City during the season before last when James unleashed a fizzing strike into the roof of the net from fully 30 yards.
Take a look at the strike that came to Kepa's rescue here:
Kepa, my friend, you can breathe a sight of relief... for the time being.
James' remarkable strike on the south coast was actually the first Premier League goal of his career and it seemed to resuscitate Chelsea on the way to an opening day victory.
Zouma scores Chelsea's third
That's because the Englishman's belter was followed up another goal for the Blues, which actually emerged from one of his corners with Kurt Zouma benefitting from a deflection.
The French defender etched his name on the scoresheet after a touch from Adam Webster upgraded what would have been a routine save for Matt Ryan into a third goal for the visitors.
However, pulling away to become 3-1 victors will do little to rescue Kepa's chances of remaining as Chelsea's number one goalkeeper in the long-term.
You can't help thinking that the world-record shot-stopper may have blown his final chance to persuade Lampard that moving for Mendy is unnecessary. There can be no turning back now.
